Flexible Support Options Ltd, Shiremoor Farm House

On this page

• Overview
• Kindness, compassion and dignity
• Treating people as individuals
• Independence, choice and control
• Responding to people’s immediate needs
• Workforce wellbeing and enablement

Caring – this means we looked for evidence that the service involved people and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.At our last inspection we rated this key question good. At this inspection the rating has changed to outstanding. This meant people were truly respected and valued as individuals; and empowered as partners in their care in an exceptional service.

This service scored 90 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

Staff at the service always treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.All relatives we spoke with told us they felt all staff, seniors and leaders were exceptionally kind and caring. Comments included, “Staff are absolutely amazing. They knew how we felt about [Name] moving and gave us lots of information”, “If [Name] is feeling down, they can talk to the staff, all they want is for [Name] to be happy. There is laughter in the house”, “[Name] has a better quality of life than me”, “Staff are flexible. I could phone and say I was stuck at the hospital so [Name] staff member would stay longer, they have been so good to us”, “Some of the staff deserve a gold medal’’ and “[Name] wants to go back to their own home when they visit me, so that is a good sign.”

Care records evidenced and relatives shared examples where staff had gone the extra mile to ensure people received excellent care and support.People were empowered by staff to feel confident in trying new opportunities. For example, a relative commented, “The service has had a positive effect on [Name]’s life. Since lock down [Name] has not wanted to go out much, but staff suggest things and have encouraged them to venture out.” Another relative told us, “Staff are very good at letting [Name] feel in charge while steering them in positive directions and trying new things.”

Staff at the service treated people as individuals and made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. They took account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.Staff had received training in equality and diversity to emphasise the importance of treating people as unique individuals with different and diverse needs. Detailed person-centred information was collected about people's religion and cultural preferences. Staff were positive in empowering people to enjoy a lifestyle that met their preferences and celebrated this. Relatives’ comments included, “Staff fully understand [Name]’s religious and cultural needs, 1 member of [Name]’s staff is Sikh and 1 is Hindu, they cook the food [Name] enjoys, particularly curries and chapati. They take [Name] to lots of activities, and [Name] visits the Gurdwara [place of Sikh worship] with staff twice each week”, “Staff really care and put [Name] first” and “[Name] has obsessive compulsive disorder [OCD] and staff understand this and support [Name] to clean their home in a way that maintains their quality of life.”

Staff understood their role not just to support people and provide care, but to be an enabler with them. They supported people to become responsible in daily decision making in their own lives and to learn new skills, whatever the level of need. Staff and management empowered people to make choices and take control over their lives by providing effective teaching skills tailored to individual needs. Staff and management recognised barriers and challenges people faced and planned to overcome them. Examples included a person who previously became agitated when using public transport who was now involved in planning their journey and was taking short bus journeys to their choice of places, another person was learning to de-clutter their home, another person was building up confidence to sleep in a bed again, a person who disliked noise was now using a blender to make homemade soup and a person had successfully had their hours of support reduced as they became more independent. All improving aspects of people’s lives. A relative commented, “Staff have got [Name] cooking their own tea which is progress, and they are transferring skills they are learning there, when [Name] is at home. They are really trying with [Name]’s independence.”

People were all very well supported to follow a variety of hobbies and interests. Peoples’ and relatives’ comments included, “I am going on holiday to York”, “I like Blackpool”, “[Name] is out every single day and does the things they want to do. [Name] is always given a choice, they like churches and old buildings” and “[Name] is included in all trips and activities they go to Edinburgh regularly, and they have been in a hot air balloon.” People were encouraged to give feedback to develop plans for future activities and events. This helped ensure individual needs and preferences could be met. We observed people and staff knew each other well, people appeared relaxed. Staff appeared warm and friendly towards people. There was a camaraderie amongst people and staff and staff shared jokes with some people as they supported them with individual activities. People were encouraged to join in and people's decisions if they chose not to join in were respected.

Staff at the service listened to and understood people’s needs, views and wishes. They responded to people’s needs in the moment and acted to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress.A professional commented, “I have seen evidence of incident reporting and the use of ABC [behavioural charts.] Staff are very good at supporting people when they are upset.” A relative told us, “Staff will get back to me if I ring there is always someone. We have a duty number at night as well.”

The provider cared about and promoted the well-being of their staff, and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care.Staff members told us they felt valued, respected and supported within their roles. Their comments included, “I am well-supported” and “The organisation cares about people and staff.” Team meetings were held to discuss issues relevant to the service or staff experience.